That meant Ole Gunnar Solskjaer played Romelu Lukaku after his impressive display in the FA Cup against Arsenal.
And the Norwegian explained exactly why Martial was absent.
“He got a slight injury in training but hopefully he’ll be back for next weekend,” Solskjaer explained.
“There was no chance he could play today so it was easy enough to put Romelu [Lukaku] on the pitch.”
Martial has been used alongside Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard in attack for Solskjaer.
And that has helped United to eight straight wins since he replaced Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford.
Martial has been in good form for the Red Devils this season, netting 10 times in all competitions.
Solskjaer also selected Andreas Pereira in his starting line-up to take on Burnley at Old Trafford.
The manager explained that it was with a view to giving the impressive Ander Herrera a rest.
“I think Andreas has been fantastic in training,” Solskjaer said.
“He really has been determined.
“He was disappointed with his game against Reading and we had a little chat about it. He’s been working really hard and I think he deserves a chance.
“Ander [Herrera] has been different class but, this time, you know we need to rotate a little bit.”
United went into the games against Burnley in sixth, three points behind Chelsea in fourth as they look to force their way into the Champions League qualifying places.
The Red Devils are also level on points with Arsenal who take on Cardiff this evening.